7/23/2008 @ 12:20AM

Chavez Goes Shopping In Moscow

Guns and oil are important commodities for world leaders. On Tuesday, Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez and Russia’s Dmitri Medvedev met in Moscow to talk about both.

It was the first time Chavez had met his new counterpart in Russia, but there was no real deviation from the script perfected under Vladimir Putin’s presidency. The Venezuelan president is reportedly looking to buy $1 billion worth of defense systems and submarines, which would make a tidy addition to the billions of dollars of weapons Chavez has ordered from Russia over the past five years.

Russia, meanwhile, is likely to delve deeper into the Venezuelan energy sector. Russian oil majors Lukoil and TNK-BP, as well as gas titan
Gazprom
, are expected to sign new energy deals with the Latin American country during Chavez’ visit. Gazprom has already expressed its interest in helping to build a section of gas pipeline between Venezuela and Brazil.

Gazprom is eyeing the Iberian market as a possible region ripe for deals, after signing a framework agreement with Spain’s Gas Natural on Monday. (See “Gazprom Aims For Spain”)

Although bad relations with the United States would seem to be one unifying factor that might grease the wheels of a Chavez-Medvedev get-together, the leaders have other priorities at the moment. Chavez is desperately looking for friends following Fidel Castro’s disappearance from Cuban political life, and has even met with his old Colombian foe Alvaro Uribe following the secret operation against the left-wing FARC guerillas that freed Ingrid Betancourt. (See “Colombia Basks In Betancourt’s Glow”)

Russia, meanwhile, is grappling with the reality of falling oil production. Figures for the first half of 2008 showed a decline in oil production over the year, the first in a decade, and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is hoping that tax cuts in 2009 will spur oil companies to make investments and boost production. (See “Russia Getting Squeezed For Oil”)